Again, I think you look at the stellar play of the youngest guys as being the most instrumental in the turn-around. It's hard for me to imagine that fresh faced rookies and 2nd year players who are fighting for their careers are going to be influenced to play better and harder because a new owner steps in.

The statistics say otherwise. I didn't think it had that big an effect either, but it obviously has.

Yeah, but you know as well as I do that any correlation could be random. Kinda like saying that Derek Roy's injury made the team better, or the new carpet in the locker room did the trick. We witnessed the team starting to play well right after Christmas, and most likely, the confidence generated at that time, along with the desperation of knowing that almost every game was a "must win" parlayed into an amazing run to finish the year.

but I'm not talking about whatever our speculations are....I'm talking about a quote from Lindy.

The coach said new ownership has had an impact.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

That's a fair point.

But, as XC said, I'll take Lindy's word for it.

You can't believe everything Lindy tells you

Seriously, though, I wonder if (and obviously still an unlikely "if") the Sabres were to win the cup this year, if it would be a little bittersweet and anticlimactic for Terry, with the team achieving the greatest accomplishment before he puts his stamp on the team. Let's hope he has to deal with that problem.

It's my team.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

So it was Santa then? Not BTG, not Pegula, and not Roy's injury. It was Santa.

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The new energy and change in attitude that the Pegula has generated is also a large part to why this team battled back into the playoffs.


Vanek has said this as well (in his blog).

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Uh, Terry Pegula has put a bigger stamp on this team and franchise in 6 weeks than BTG ever did.

THIS

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I remember hearing that, and I really, truly believe it. You can see it by the way they're playing. I mean hell, look at Tim Connolly circa 2006 that we've seen for last month or so...

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

That makes no sense. He did buy the Sabres to help him in his political career. Like obviously the "No-Brain" voters would probably vote for a guy with a headline of "Golisano saves Sabres..." It's all a political game my friend.

If it had nothing to do with politics then Golisano would still be the owner of this franchise.

And if politics had nothing to do with we'd be cheering for the Hamilton Sabres?


GO SABRES!!!

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

I'll say it again. How does this team get blasted after the Boston series, have cap room but watch the organization lose important players and have a pissing match with another over 200k, and come into this season with very much motivation? Why should they totally commit to winning when they know the owner is not?

This team started to turn it around in December, which is also when just the Pegula rumors were starting. The young d-men started to figure things out, but the whole team get energized when Pegula was just a rumor. They got better and better as the sale got closer, and have hit the roof since the sale took place.

It's really a great case study on team morale, and vindicates Darcy/Ruff to some extent.

This is a great topic. I think there are a lot of factors.
1) IN years past, I have wailed against the bricks on how Lindy shuffles his lines, like, he gives up too quickly on his line combinations. That didn't happen so much this year, so I think players had a better chance to gel with their line-mates. Even when he did do some shuffling, he usually went back, ala Pommers - Vanek - Connelly.

2) I hate to use the term "The players bought into the system", but they did. They stuck with what was being coached to them and the system started to work. Shooting everything at the net, keeping more shots form the outside and less from in close.

3) A lot of the young guys had been up in previous years for some games and I think they had a better grasp on the NHL game this year. There is really not so many new faces on the team, so chemistry has to be stronger than in the past.

4) A HELL of a lot less injuries this season than we've seen in the past.

5) Discipline. This team has shown us a lot of discipline in how they approached every aspect of the season, from the game plan, to adversity, to the playoff run, they have been more like a machine than I've seen in years.

6) Perception. And that is where Terry came in, guaranteeing Lindy and Darcy would be staying here, that Buffalo would become the place to play in the NHL, his obvious love for the game and the team, and his excitement, and having been in sales for a long time, positive attitudes, excitement, love for the product you represent is contagious.

If my boss walked in tomorrow and announced we would be upgrading all of our equipment, that pay scales were not going to be slashed, like they are, and that he was going to invest in making us the best marketing company in the region, I bet everyone at my job would feel invigorated.

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Sabres Fan since Day One!!!

I'm so glad you joined up over here to grace us with your lack of reading comprehension.

Jammerz, he means Golisano didn't buy the team to boost his political career because he hasn't been involved in a political career since he has bought the Sabres.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

No, it's not a large part. It's a small part. Lindy never said that Pegula's coming to town provided the major impetus in transforming a bunch of underachieving bottom dwellers into a playoff team. You really think Lindy, Vanek, Pominville, and Miller woke up one morning in February and said - "hey, Terry Pegula wants to win a cup and said money is no expense, so let's actually start playing like we care." These guys have already been rewarded beyond their wildest dreams, and if they didn't care about putting their best game on the ice until Pegula signed on, then shame on them. This team has gained confidence through good coaching, hard work, and the steady improvement of the young guys. A guy who's 20 or 21 years old isn't gonna give a flying piss who the owner is. He's battling for his life and livelihood. And anyone who's watched the last 4 months can appreciate taht the play of Gerbe, Ennis, Enroth, Weber, and Mancari has just as much, if not more, to do with this team's turnaround as the contributions of Connolly, Pominville, and Vanek. Let's give credit where it's due - to players and coaches who have worked their asses off for 4+ months to become a coherent hockey team with an identity. And yeah, I do think the BTG team deserves some credit for whatever milestones they achieve this year.

Terry will, no doubt, make his mark on this team, and we're all excited about the future of the franchise, but this year ain't about him.

Yikes, you are completely missing the entire point. Whatever. Not even worth it...

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

i got that feed too and rewound it to hear it a second time. They were saying that since the change everyone on the team basically wants to stay in Buffalo. Sweet to hear.

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